Representational image of BJP and Congress flags. (File photo | PTI)
Representational image of BJP and Congress flags. (File photo | PTI)

Miffed Congress MLA Harish Dhami offers to vacate seat for Uttarakhand CM; gives hint of defecting to BJP

The CM, who led the BJP to victory in the recent state elections, lost to his Congress rival from Khatima.

DEHRADUN: Even as the BJP is yet to decide the Assembly constituency Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will contest from, disgruntled Congress MLA from Dharchula, Harish Dhami, has offered to vacate his seat.

Accusing the party of giving precedence to first-timers over loyal leaders and workers, the two-time Congress MLA said, “I am hurt. I had vacated my seat for the then chief minister Harish Rawat ji in 2014 for the development of the state. If the people of my constituency allow me, I will vacate my seat for Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.”

The CM, who led the BJP to victory in the recent state elections, lost to his Congress rival from Khatima.

Six BJP MLAs have offered to vacate their seats for the CM, but the party is yet to take a final call.

In the Congress, meanwhile, factional fights have intensified after the appointment of Karan Mahra as state Congress chief and Yashpal Arya as Congress Legislature Party leader in the Assembly.

Harish Dhami’s main grouse is that the party brass ignored honest workers on the ground during elections and neglected merit during party revamp after the elections.

He lashed out at the Congress leadership, particularly party in-charge for Uttarakhand, Devendra Yadav, blaming them for the poll debacle.

“The role of party high command, especially Yadav, has been objectionable throughout. Had the resources, which were used by him, been invested on ground level workers who gave their sweat and blood for the party, the result would have been different,” said the MLA.

Dhami did not rule out the possibility of 10-odd MLAs leaving the grand old party and joining the BJP. “A party which does not know how to honor its hardworking and honest workers is worth leaving. We have been elected by the people of Uttrakhand to serve them and we will do that,” he said.

If the inevitable happens, it will be a redux of 2016 when nine Congress MLAs, including some ministers, had switched over to the BJP.

“The MLAs are planning to form a separate party to bypass anti-defection law. Meetings and discussions are on between dissenting MLAs to decide the next course of action,” said a source.

Newly appointed state Congress president Karan Mahra, however, warned the dissenting factions saying,

“These MLAs have won on the symbol and goodwill of the Congress party. They should keep this in mind and honour the mandate of the people.”

Party's state president Karan Mahra and LoP Yashpal Arya gave the advice to the party's "disgruntled" MLAs while speaking with them individually in a bid to stave off an impending crisis in the party.

There has been widespread discontent among Party MLAs over the recent organisational revamp in the state.

The two leaders individually talked to the upset party MLAs and told them not to do anything which may adversely affect the morale of party workers, Congress general secretary (Organisation) Mathura Dutt Joshi said.

Mahra had also earlier said the MLAs are accountable to their voters.

"Winning the polls on one party's symbol and ideology and going to another after the verdict amounts to letting down the voters and going against the mandate," Mahra had said.

Though the new PCC chief had all along been denying any resentment among party MLAs, he had also been contacting them individually to dissuade them from taking any confrontationist course amid reports that the disgruntled MLAs might even snap ties with the party and float an outfit of their own, party sources said.

"The PCC chief and the leader of the opposition contacted all MLAs individually and heard them out. Their grievances have been addressed and no one is going anywhere," Joshi said.

The organisational revamp was done by the party high command after being authorised to do so by the Congress legislature party, he said.

Accordingly, there was no room for any grievance on part of the MLAs, he added.

If they have any complaints despite that, they will have to put them before proper forums to be sorted out, Joshi said.

Harish Dhami had voiced his grievances more openly than others as he had said merit was not taken into consideration while making the new appointments which showed no regard for regional balance.

He had also spoken openly against AICC in charge of Uttarakhand Devender Yadav, saying he was not handling the party affairs properly.

Chakrata MLA and former leader of opposition Pritam Singh, Dwarahat MLA Madan Singh Bisht, Lohaghat MLA Khushal Singh Adhikari and Bhagwanpur MLA Mamata Rakesh are also said to have been unhappy with the organisational reshuffle in which two-time MLA Mahra was made the state party president.

They had also voiced their resentment against the appointment of Arya, a party veteran and Bajpur MLA, as the Leader of Opposition and Bhuvan Chandra Kapri who defeated Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Khatima this time as the deputy leader of opposition in the state assembly.

(With PTI Inputs)

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